RTW: Investing across Healthcare - [Business Breakdowns, EP.184]

Today we are breaking down healthcare, one of the most impactful sectors in the world, yet one of the most unique for investors. My guests are Rod Wong, founder and CIO of RTW Investments, and Stephanie Sirota, chief business officer of RTW Investments. RTW was founded in 2009 and operates a sector-specific strategy in healthcare. We discuss the evolution of their model, which feels particularly important given how much it aligns with the healthcare investment process.  We cover the various phases of drug investments, the unique dynamics of founders and team building, and we get into some of the more philosophical discussions around regulation in the industry. Please enjoy this breakdown on healthcare. Editor-in-Chief application here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. I think this platform will become the standard for investment managers, and if you run an investing firm, I highly recommend you find time to speak with them. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. --- This episode is brought to you by Public: Invest in stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and more in one place. A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. The [6.7%] yield is the average annualized yield to maturity (YTM) across all ten bonds in the Bond Account, before fees, as of [9/05/2024]. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore a bond’s YTM is “locked in” when the bond is purchased. Your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTM is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTM of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity, or if the issuer calls or defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. You should evaluate each bond before investing in a Bond Account. The bonds in your Bond Account will not be rebalanced and allocations will not be updated, except for Corporate Actions. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:07:50) Phases of Healthcare Product Lifecycle (00:09:03) Challenges and Opportunities in Biotech (00:14:01) Investment Strategies in Healthcare (00:16:47) The Evolution of RTW and Team Structure (00:20:11) Public and Private Market Dynamics (00:26:24) Gene Therapy: A Case Study (00:33:08) Future of Healthcare Innovation (00:46:11) Global Biotech Landscape: US Dominance and International Opportunities (00:48:29) Big Pharma Winners and Losers: A Decade in Review (00:51:11) Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on Drug Development (00:54:55) Regulatory Changes and Their Impact on Innovation (01:10:08) M&A in Biotech: A Critical Component for Success (01:15:57) GLP-1 Drugs: Market Impact and Future Prospects (01:20:38) Current Biotech Market: Opportunities and Future Outlook